Family of 6-year-old who died after choking on food hosts fundraiser for LifeVacs

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) -- Owen Hockenberry died in August after choking on a piece of steak. Community members want to do their best to prevent it from happening to someone else.

On Sunday, Owen's family gave two LifeVacs to local daycares.

"Small-town America makes a difference every day," Arthur Lih, founder and CEO of LifeVac, said. "They're the true soul and heartbeat of our country."

"I fully believe that each life on Earth serves a purpose, and this was Owen's," Vickie Wheatley, founder of the Chubby Hands Foundation, said.

"They have to re-live that, and to do that for others is the ultimate sacrifice," Lih said. "The mission is to have every school equipped."

Over $10,000 was raised on Sunday, half of which will go to LifeVac. The other half goes to the Chubby Hands Foundation.

"It's a little plunger. You push it, you pull it, and it sucks out the obstruction," Lih said, demonstrating how the LifeVac works.

"I would never want to see a family suffer the loss of a child or someone that I've given care to," Desirae Leonard, owner of Playland Daycare, a recipient of one of the LifeVacs, said.

"We will continue to use this money raised today to purchase LifeVac systems to donate to daycares and preschools and schools in the community," Wheatley said.

They will all continue telling Owen's story, hoping to remember him and make a difference.

"He was just bigger than life, and his purpose is never going to be over now," Wheatley said.

Owen's parents, grandparents, and the Chubby Hands Foundation are now working with Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa on a bill requiring police, fire, and EMS to have LifeVacs on board.